GDACS is a cooperation framework between the United Nations, the European Commission and disaster managers worldwide to improve alerts, information exchange and coordination in the first phase after major sudden-onset disasters.

Two strong earthquakes struck off the Indonesian province of Aceh on Thursday in an area that was devastated by a massive earthquake in December, destroying houses and causing a number of injuries. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the quakes at magnitude 5.1 and 5.6.